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qf2 01
qf2 01
Series: QF2-01
THEORY
Just as it takes energy to generate a hole-electron pair, energy is released when an electron recombines
with a hole. If a forward current is passed through a semiconductor diode, electrons and holes are
injected into the P and N region respectively. Depending on the magnitude of the current, a
recombination of charge carriers (electron and holes) takes place when an electron falls from the
conduction into the valence band. In silicon and germanium when this recombination takes place, the
surplus energy goes into the crystal as heat. In other semiconductors, such as gallium arsenide, the
released energy appears in the form of electromagnetic radiation, ranging from visible to infrared. The
wavelength of this radiation is dependent on energy required to cause electrons to jump from the
conduction band to the valence band.
A portion of the light generated within the LED is unable to emerge due to internal absorption, fresnel
losses and internal reflection. Internal absorption occurs as a photon is traveling from the junction region
through the chip. Limiting the range of this travel will reduce the internal absorption, thus smaller LED
sizes will manifest increased conversion efficiencies. Fresnel losses and internal reflection are minimized
by covering the LED chip with an optical coating material whose index of refraction will bridge the indices
of refraction between the chip and air.
Light is concentrated near the junction because most of the carriers are to be found within a diffusion
length of the junction. Since this junction extends to and is exposed on all four sides of the die, a
considerable amount of energy is emitted from the sides as well as the top surface. Typically, the LED
chip is mounted in a conical cavity to reflect the side emitting energy forward.
ELECTRICAL CONSIDERATIONS
BASIC DC CIRCUIT
Since LEDs are basically diodes, they are current
dependent devices and do not have a current
control function. When operated from constant
voltage sources, protection should be provided by
incorporating a current-limiting resistor as shown
in figure 1.
Design Example to determine R for figure 1a: Suppose a voltage source of five volts (Vcc) is used and a forward current (If) of
20mA is desired. The data sheet for the LED should indicate an expected voltage drop (Vf) across the LED and for this example
1.5 volts will be used.
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BASIC AC CIRCUIT
Since LEDs should be operated in the forward direction, reverse
voltage protection is required to assure the reverse voltage (Vr)
maximum is not exceeded. Figure 3a illustrates the placement of
back-to-back silicon diode across the LED, the silicon diode will
clamp the voltage across the LED to approximately .6 volts.
Figure 3b shows a different approach that uses two (2) LEDs in
parallel which alternately light relative to the device under a
forward bias condition.
PULSED OPERATION
Pulsed operation of LEDs can typically be achieved by the transistor drive circuits shown in figure 4. Significantly higher peak
LED light output can be realized from large drive current pulses at a low duty cycle. The maximum tolerable limits should not
exceed the LED junction temperature above that obtained by operating the lamp at the maximum DC current
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COMMON PACKAGING
CUSTOM PACKAGING
RADIANT INTENSITY
Radiant Intensity is the radiant energy emitted within a time period per unit solid angle, usually measured in watts per steradian. A surface
area of a steradian extending from the center of a sphere is equivalent to the square of the radius. There are 4 steradians in a sphere and in a
pure cone, a steradian subtends a solid angle of about 66 degrees.
In laymen terms, the measurement procedure is similar to measuring radiant flux. The difference is the photodiode is mounted at a
specified distance from, and on the mechanical axis of the LED. An aperture is placed over the photodiode whose opening is the square of
the distance from the LED so that only the detector is 10cm and the active area of the detector is one square cm. This results in a solid
angle of .01 steradians (fig. 8). The radiant intensity is obtained by using this measured detector value for calculating the radiant intensity
for a solid angle of one steradian, i.e. the resultant power measurement is factored by 100 to convert the answer to watts per steradian.
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SOLDERING INSTRUCTIONS
Precaution against overheating must be exercised to prevent damage to the LED. It is recommended the applied heat should be as short
as possible and any heat generated be quickly conducted away. Generally a soldering temperature of less than 260 deg. C, at a distance
of 2mm from the case, should have a soldering dwell time of less than 3 seconds. Normal flux cleaning processes should be acceptable,
however experimentation is recommended.
Tel: (608)924-3000
Fax: (608)924-3007
URL: www.quantumdev.com
E-mail: qdisales@quantumdev.com
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